Roasted Potatoes with Thyme

I found this recipe several years ago in my Vegetarian Times cookbook.  It's hardly an actual recipe, because all you do is toss some potatoes with olive oil, add some salt & pepper and fresh thyme, and bake.  What could be simpler?

But, of course, simple does not mean boring, and these potatoes are really really good.  We all love them, and they are a Passover tradition around here.  I decided the menu needed simplified years ago.  We have leg of lamb, these potatoes, peas, and unleavened bread.  We might have some pickles and olives and sometimes a salad - depending on who's coming and what they want to bring - but the main meal is just really simple, and it's just perfect that way.

Roasted Potatoes with Thyme
adapted from Vegetarian Times

Ingredients:

• Red Potatoes
• Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper
• Fresh Thyme

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°
2. Toss potatoes and olive oil together (1 T oil for each pound of potatoes) in baking dish
3. Add salt and pepper and then top with sprigs of fresh thyme (about 8 sprigs per pound of potatoes)
4. Cover baking dish and bake potatoes for 45 minutes (or longer), giving the dish a shake a couple times during baking.
5. Cool slightly and serve.

The small red potatoes are best, but if you use bigger ones they'll still taste good.  They may just take longer to bake, and you will probably want to cut them in half to serve.  The oven temperature can be adjusted.  For instance, I bake the lamb at 325°, and I just bake the potatoes right alongside it.  And, the longer these bake, the better they seem to get.  The potatoes almost melt in your mouth, and they're really good mashed slightly with a fork and drizzled with some of the flavored oil from the bottom of the pan.

I could not find this actual recipe on the Vegetarian Times site when I searched, but I did find a couple more recipes that look pretty good - these Salt & Vinegar Roasted Potatoes and these Garlicky Mashed Sweet Potatoes.

Black Pepper Chicken Curry

It's time again for Secret Recipe Club reveal!  My secret blog assignment this month was Bewitching Kitchen written by the lovely Sally.  While she grew up in Brazil and has lived in some exotic places like Paris, she's now settled in the middle of Kansas where she and her husband both work in the Biochemistry Department of Kansas State University.  Sally, along with several other bloggers, was recently featured on the Secret Recipe Club blog as a Gold Member. She is kind of infamous in the Secret Recipe Club, where she and her 'friend' Dorothy are constantly competing with one another to see who can find the perfect recipe, shop for, cook, photograph, and write her blog post first every month when they get their SRC assignments.  It's always fun to see their comments.

Unlike Sally, I do not choose a recipe quickly.  This month I get to blame it all on her!  So many amazing-looking, mouthwatering recipes!  If you have not checked Bewitching Kitchen out, you simply must!  Sally has only recently joined Group A, so this is my first time browsing through her blog, but I can assure you, it will not be the last.  Not by a long shot!

The first recipe that caught my eye was for these Quinoa and Sweet Potato Cakes, but then I noticed they were a previous SRC post so I had to continue looking.  I'm pretty sure I'm going to be making some of these soon, just not for this post.

Here are a few of the recipes that made the short list:

• Brazilian Black Beans (Sally's mom's recipe. I will definitely be making these.)
• Brigadeiros
• Roasted Butternut Squash and Greens Over Bowtie Pasta (I especially loved reading about what Sally was willing to do in order to get her stepson to eat some squash. You'll never guess!)
• Black Pepper Chicken Curry - I think this is it!
• Indonesian Ginger Chicken - oh man, I can't stop!

In the end, I did go with the Black Pepper Chicken Curry, and I'm so glad I did.  It was wonderful!

Black Pepper Chicken Curry
adapted from Bewitching Kitchen

Ingredients:

• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1-1/2 tsp coarsely crushed black peppercorns
• 1/2 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp salt, divided
• 1-3/4 pounds skinless, boneless chicken thighs cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 shallot, diced
• 1-1/2 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon minced Serrano chile
• 1/2 cup canned unsweetened coconut milk
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup cashews, divided
• juice from 1/2 lemon
• fresh parsley, minced

Directions:

1. In a bowl, combine the coriander, cumin, peppercorns, turmeric and 1/4 teaspoon of the salt. Add the chicken and 2 T of the oil; mix with the spices until all chicken is coated. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes. (or, if preparing ahead of time, refrigerate.  Then pull it out and allow to sit at room temperature 20 to 30 minutes before cooking.)
2. Meanwhile, place 1/4 cup of cashews in a small food processor and process, not too fine. Reserve.
3. In a large deep nonstick skillet, heat the remaining 2 T of oil. Add the diced shallot and saute for a few minutes, until translucent.  Add the chicken, ginger, Serrano chile and the remaining 3/4 teaspoon of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is golden, about 8 minutes. No need to cook through.
4. Stir in 1/4 cup of the coconut milk, the water, and the processed cashews, Cover the pan and simmer until cooked to your liking (about 30 minutes).
5. Add the remaining 1/4 cup of coconut milk, the lemon juice and the fresh parsley to the chicken and simmer, stirring. Serve with rice and the rest of the cashews.

The only thing we wanted was more of the yummy sauce to go with our chicken.  The flavors are absolutely amazing.  Sally cooks hers in a pressure cooker, and it looks a bit juicier, so I'm either going to have to start using a pressure cooker - though I'm a bit scared of the whole thing - or perhaps use a bit more coconut milk and water to get more sauce.  Because, of course, I am going to be making this one again.

An InLinkz Link-up

Southwestern Turkey and Hash Brown Casserole

I was searching for a recipe for "Turkey Breakfast Casserole" on Pinterest, because I had some cooked turkey in the fridge, and I was looking for a good way to use it for dinner.  Makes sense, right?  But I just wasn't finding anything interesting by just looking for a turkey casserole.

Anyway, I'm not sure why this particular recipe came up because it had absolutely no turkey in it, but it sounded really good so I went with it.  I just substituted my turkey for the sausage in the original recipe, added some corn, and used roasted red pepper instead of the diced green chilies.  It's pretty much the same...

Southwestern Turkey and Hash Brown Casserole
adapted from Julia's Album

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 1/2 a bell pepper, chopped
• 1/4 cup diced roasted red pepper
• 1-1/2 to 2 cups diced cooked turkey
• 1 tsp chili powder, divided
• 1 tsp ground cumin, divided
• 1/2 tsp salt, divided
• 3 cups frozen hash browns 
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 1 can black beans (15 oz), drained
• 1-1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
• 6 eggs
• 1/2 cup milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375° F.  Generously butter a 13x9" baking dish.
2. Heat oil in large skillet; add chopped onions and cook on medium heat 2-3 minutes. Add chopped pepper and cook until onion is translucent, stirring often. Add roasted red pepper, turkey, and half the spices (1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, and 1/4 tsp salt) and cook until fragrant.  Add hash browns, corn, and  black beans; mix well.  Turn off heat.
3. In medium bowl, whisk eggs, milk, and the remaining spices (1/2 tsp chili powder, 1/2 tsp cumin, and 1/4 tsp salt - and a dash of black pepper).
4. Mix 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese and the shredded mozzarella cheese into the hash brown mixture.  Cheese will start to melt.
5. Spoon half of hash brown mixture into prepared baking dish and pour half of egg mixture on top.  Repeat with remaining hash brown mixture and then egg mixture.  Sprinkle remaining 1/2 cup of cheddar on top.
6. Bake, uncovered for about 40-45 minutes, until eggs are set and casserole is nicely browned. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes before serving.

This turned out really well.  It's good either just the way it is, or with some salsa and sour cream on top.  I love the browned edges.  And the flavors are all really good together.

I thought about adding some crushed tortilla chips to the mix, but since I was planning to serve this with some cornbread muffins, I decided to skip the chips. I also think a green salad would be great with this, but we'd just finished our salad for lunch, and I didn't feel like making another one.  So we had peas instead.  I think it just needs something green to go with it.  Of course, I think that about a lot of things.  Every meals deserves some green.